Pc cleared after evidence vanishes
By Nick Britten
(Filed: 26/05/2005)
A police officer accused of driving at 90mph in a 30mph zone has escaped prosecution after the equipment used to check his speed disappeared.
The case against Pc Daniel Swain, 30, collapsed after a court was told that the "black box" recorder in his patrol car "was no longer in existence".
Pc Swain was driving a Vauxhall Astra patrol car through Shuttlewood, near Bolsover, Derbys, when it hit another car then crashed into a house, causing extensive damage. No one was hurt.
Pc Swain had been responding to a report of someone acting suspiciously near parked cars.
When his colleagues checked the incident data recorder in his car it showed that the vehicle had been doing 90mph just before the crash.
The Crown Prosecution Service began a prosecution for dangerous driving but after almost 18 months of legal wrangling Pc Swain walked free from court on Thursday, the day his trial was due to start.
The prosecution case was built on information stored in the black box. But Sonal Ahya, defending, told Derby Crown Court that the data recorder was potentially unreliable because it had not been re-calibrated after an earlier crash.
She said: "There is no way of checking the recorder as it is no longer in existence". No evidence was offered as to what happened to it.
A report from its manufacturers, Siemens, which suggested the black box had been accurate was presented to the court but was dismissed by the Recorder, Robert Glancy, QC, on the grounds that it was submitted too late, and he acquitted Pc Swain saying the prosecution case was flawed. The court heard that Pc Swain, from South Normanton, Derbys, was answering a call at 4.50am on Feb 20 last year, with his emergency lights flashing.
He collided with a Vauxhall Vectra in Shuttlewood and smashed into a house. The Vectra driver has been accused of careless driving and is due to go on trial at Chesterfield next month.
Another officer, Pc Glen Dent, who was following in his patrol car, claimed Pc Swain had been doing 50 to 60 mph, although his black box had not been activated so could not prove it.
After recording a not guilty verdict on Pc Swain, Recorder Glancy said: "There is nothing to suggest Pc Dent is not a reliable witness and this is not a case the prosecution will get a conviction on."
However, the case took a twist last night when Derbyshire police said that they had found the black box in another car.
Duncan Davis, spokesman for the Derbyshire police federation, said that Pc Swain, who denied dangerous driving, was still under internal investigation over issues of alleged misconduct.
He said: "The accuracy and the maintenance of the information data recorder is something that we are very concerned about." Elaine Smithurst, 59, whose home was hit by the patrol car just as she was getting into bed with husband William, 68, said she was "devastated" by the outcome.
Paul Smith, of the organisation Safe Speed, said: "This sounds like a catalogue of maladministration. Cases like this are very damaging to police-public relationships." Pc Swain declined to comment.
By Nick Britten
(Filed: 26/05/2005)
A police officer accused of driving at 90mph in a 30mph zone has escaped prosecution after the equipment used to check his speed disappeared.
The case against Pc Daniel Swain, 30, collapsed after a court was told that the "black box" recorder in his patrol car "was no longer in existence".
Pc Swain was driving a Vauxhall Astra patrol car through Shuttlewood, near Bolsover, Derbys, when it hit another car then crashed into a house, causing extensive damage. No one was hurt.
Pc Swain had been responding to a report of someone acting suspiciously near parked cars.
When his colleagues checked the incident data recorder in his car it showed that the vehicle had been doing 90mph just before the crash.
The Crown Prosecution Service began a prosecution for dangerous driving but after almost 18 months of legal wrangling Pc Swain walked free from court on Thursday, the day his trial was due to start.
The prosecution case was built on information stored in the black box. But Sonal Ahya, defending, told Derby Crown Court that the data recorder was potentially unreliable because it had not been re-calibrated after an earlier crash.
She said: "There is no way of checking the recorder as it is no longer in existence". No evidence was offered as to what happened to it.
A report from its manufacturers, Siemens, which suggested the black box had been accurate was presented to the court but was dismissed by the Recorder, Robert Glancy, QC, on the grounds that it was submitted too late, and he acquitted Pc Swain saying the prosecution case was flawed. The court heard that Pc Swain, from South Normanton, Derbys, was answering a call at 4.50am on Feb 20 last year, with his emergency lights flashing.
He collided with a Vauxhall Vectra in Shuttlewood and smashed into a house. The Vectra driver has been accused of careless driving and is due to go on trial at Chesterfield next month.
Another officer, Pc Glen Dent, who was following in his patrol car, claimed Pc Swain had been doing 50 to 60 mph, although his black box had not been activated so could not prove it.
After recording a not guilty verdict on Pc Swain, Recorder Glancy said: "There is nothing to suggest Pc Dent is not a reliable witness and this is not a case the prosecution will get a conviction on."
However, the case took a twist last night when Derbyshire police said that they had found the black box in another car.
Duncan Davis, spokesman for the Derbyshire police federation, said that Pc Swain, who denied dangerous driving, was still under internal investigation over issues of alleged misconduct.
He said: "The accuracy and the maintenance of the information data recorder is something that we are very concerned about." Elaine Smithurst, 59, whose home was hit by the patrol car just as she was getting into bed with husband William, 68, said she was "devastated" by the outcome.
Paul Smith, of the organisation Safe Speed, said: "This sounds like a catalogue of maladministration. Cases like this are very damaging to police-public relationships." Pc Swain declined to comment.
